Consumer Reports recommends that consumers try new, safer electric turkey fryers this Thanksgiving. Propane powered fryers have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire—a feature that tends to annoy Consumer Reports, the fire department and the burn unit at your local hospital.

This year they’ve reviewed the Masterbuilt Turk & Surf electric fryer and say that it’s not only safer (it includes a feature that turns the heat off if the oil gets too crazy hot), but that it makes some delicious turkey.

Every year for the last five years, I’ve asked for permission from the girlfriend to buy a turkey fryolater and she always says no. When will she realize that tasty turkey can go hand-in-hand with danger and excitement?

The problem with electric fryers is that it’s nearly impossible to regulate the temp. That’s much easier with the gas ones. Char-Broil has a new gadget out called the Big Easy (I think) that uses propane and infra red technology and no oil. They say it cooks in 8-10 minutes per pound versus oil’s 3 minutes a pound plus 5 minutes. I was going to pick one up this past weekend to try, but the store was out.

Instead of buying a 20 pound turkey and trying to figure out how to cook it, why not buy a pair of 3 pound chickens that will fit into your oven? Or how about a legs or two of turkey if only one or two people are eating?

Benjamin Franklin said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Expecting an oversized bird to make every Thanksgiving perfect fits that definition perfectly.

Anybody stupid enough to use a turkey deep fryer indoors fails at life.

Anybody who is in a position to be cooking a turkey, deep-fried or otherwise, should also be smart enough to know beforehand what happens when you put a wet, possibly partially frozen turkey into a fryer with too much oil.

@vanilla-fro: My dad got it for Christmas one year and hated it. He re-gifted it to me and I use the hell out of it. Once a month it’s either turkey breasts, chickens, or fish. The only thing that doesn’t work in it (for me anyway) is beef.

I don’t watch it cook. Kinda goes against the “Set it and forget it”. ;)

Oh my god uncle Bob is engulfed in flames quick someone help him pull the turkey from the flaming cauldron of hot oil… we don’t want to lose the turkey and have uncle Bob ruin Thanksgiving again, especially since he hasn’t had a chance to get drunk and make a fool of himself yet… oh wait… check.

I have been deep frying my turkey for the past 5 years and I never once had a problem, people just need to follow instructions, It specifically says to 1st way
before even turning on the deep fryer to pour water and then add your turkey (still in bag of course) so you know exactly how much oil to use and not overflow and burn your dumbass, mark it, dry it up and make sure no more water is left inside, pour in oil, heat to the degree you need add turkey and enjoy! It’s that easy. “Oh yeah one more thing never stuff a turkey that will be going in a fryer.”

@frankieman70: I agree completely. I’ve used a propane fryer and an electric one and I’ve never had any problems. It’s also a good idea to make sure the bird is completely thawed and pat it dry.

A couple of years ago, I got an electric fryer and we cooked 4 turkeys in one day–inside. The Charmglow has a thermostat so it keeps a constant temperature. The only problem I see with using an electric inside is the turkey smell that takes forever to go away.

@KJones: If I were doing Thanksgiving myself, instead of going to someone else’s place, I’d do Cornish game hens. They’re easy to cook, I have a great broccoli-rice stuffing recipe, and people feel kind of special when they have their own little birds.

As it is, I bought a whole turkey today, but that’s because it was on sale for about forty cents a pound.

What’s Thanksgiving without a disaster–preferably something catching fire? Many years back, my brother-in-law decided to use one of those aluminium supermarket “roasting pans” for a 16-18 pound bird. When it came time to take the turkey out of the oven, the “pan” collapsed spilling turkey fat all over the bottom of the gas stove, which had not been turned off. The house filled with smoke, my neice (then a toddler) pitched a tantrum, and we were all amazed when the little kitchen extinguisher put out the flames. Good times.

You know, it’s not like I’ve never caught something on fire on my electric stove before. (Wife hits me on the head when I mention this.) Well, yeah I guess I have had a couple of small fires on it. And then there was my daughter trying to bake something and I used to boxes of baking soda to put it out.

Why don’t every TV station ask Food Network to allow them (for a fee, of course) to re-air Alton Brown’s Deep Fat Fried Turkey episode of Good Eats? What he does is goes well into the back yard, puts an aluminum ladder over the fryer, lowers the bird in by rope, and has you stay there while it’s cooking.

Thank you Mythbusters for showing me the pitfalls of frying a frozen turkey. It was in their holiday special.

The problem is, too many people are too stupid to handle gallons of hot oil near an open flame. The trick is to NOT overfill the pot It takes alot less oil than you’d think to fry a turkey. Oh, and to thouroughly thaw your frozen turkey. Best way I’ve found to quickly and safely thaw a frozen turkey is to keep it in the wrapper and soak it in a sink full of hot water…draining and refilling as needed. It takes the better part of a week in the fridge to thaw a turkey.